Two Steps Forward
by Flandre Nightshade
Summary: Narcissism is the act of loving yourself in an excessive or erotic manner. An act which is deemed taboo by most people. But how can it be wrong when it feels so right?
1. Chapter 1

With the flip of a coin the world turned upside down.

A single step through the door and everything _lurched_.

Blue hair walked in.

Auburn hair stepped out.

A smirk grazed her face, she knew the plan and was eager to put it to action.

Despite the fact that everyone should be asleep by now, the red-eyed girl was wide awake.

Step by step her foot hit pavement.

Step by step her smile got bigger.

Step by step she got closer to the gate. Closer to the green mansion that held a plethora of shadows.

Coffins surrounded her, yet she paid them no heed.

Her shoe stepped in a puddle of blood and yet she did not mind.

Auburn hair pulled back into a simple ponytail.

Crimson eyes that held a hint of bloodlust.

A glint of steel.

* * *

The entrance was reached.

A blue door to the left.

Clocks.

Alone she stepped into the tower.

* * *

 **Per-so-na.**

* * *

Pink lips chewed on the edge of the pencil. Staring down at the infuriating problem that plagued her, red eyes narrowed in a fit of concentration. She didn't know what she did wrong! With less than five minutes until the end of the test she wanted to finish the last problem.

But what on earth was it asking? The question itself didn't make sense at all!

Her left hand fiddled with a coin in her skirt pocket.

Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath and grabbed hold of the coin. Squeezing her fist ever so slightly before releasing and running her thumb across the ridges, across the indentation and over small little bumps that were words.

She slowly and tenderly caressed the coin, before turning it over.

Tails.

Exhale.

Red eyes opened. Scanning the paper she had in front of her before locating the error. A simple calculation error early on in the problem. Small enough to skip over yet big enough to change the answer. Tripping over the smallest things, how typical.

The auburn haired girl fixed the problem and flipped the paper over. With that, midterms were over.

With a sigh she leaned back in her seat, the last problem took a toll on her mind and the brunette was utterly exhausted. She could barely hear the teacher's speech on finishing midterms and just closed her eyes, relaxing and resting her sore writing arm.

Damn math problems. Always have to trip her up, and they were always the last thing she has to do! Fate seemed to be out to trip her just before the finish line.

Sighing once more the girl opened her eyes and took a glance around the room. Her fellow classmates had different reactions to the end of the test. Some were mad, some had happy expressions and some looked lifeless.

Her cap wearing friend looked to be apart of the last group, having an expression upon his face that could only be called despondent.

Glancing toward her brown haired female friend, the red eyed girl found that her expression was one of simple resignation. Neither happy nor sad. She had already accepted that whatever score she got, she would be stuck with.

The bell ringing broke the girl out of her thoughts. She supposed that she should be happier, the majority of the tests themselves were ridiculously easy. Science, history, Japanese and English were all walk in the parks while Math had maybe three problems at most that had tripped her up.

Damn, if only they could get their results faster.

* * *

Crimson eyes blinked. Scanning the list for her name from the bottom up, and she still couldn't find it. Yukari's and Junpei's names were already found, with Junpei's being around the bottom and Yukari sitting comfortably in the middle, however the further up she went the more nervous she got. She knew she did good, but now she was starting to get her expectations up.

Damn it, she was starting to get near the top ten and still was her name nowhere in sight. She knew she did good but there's no way she pulled _that_ off was there?

Taking a breath, she decided to just go for it and take a look at the top spots. With a small gasp she found her name sitting nicely at the first place spot. The number 498 next to her name.

Huh, maybe she did do that good. Especially since it was out of 500.

And just like that she realized all of whispers around her, the looks of awe and the gazes coming from her fellow students.

" _Hey, did you see the transfer student-"_

" _I heard she scored the top of the class!"_

" _How is that possible?"_

" _-transferred a month ago."_

" _Must be a genius!"_

The brunette swallowed, her mouth felt dry and hands were shaking slightly. She was certainly used to people talking about her, she had made it her mission to be friends with as many people as possible, but having the spotlight shifted to her out of nowhere caught her off guard.

She flexed her fingers and stuck her hand in her skirt pocket. Feeling the cold metal of the coin that lay inside calmed her.

The sudden attention that fell upon her left her nervous and worked up. The redhead felt every little strand of hair out of place, the way her uniform was slightly wrinkled at the right shoulder, how her skirt felt ever so slightly too short despite being past knee length.

She squeezed the metal object in her pocket once more before flipping it.

The world became silent, the chattering of students became nothing but background noise.

Crimson eyes blinked.

A smile graced her face.

She turned away from the board and walked towards the school entrance.

Junpei and Yukari were waiting after all.

* * *

"Hamuko-chan! I saw the results! Who knew you had it in you to take the top spot!?"

Hearing Yukari's energetic voice the first thing out of the gate was a bit of a surprise for the red eyed girl but she responded with a bright smile.

"Hey Yukari-chan, and who could have guessed right? I guess paying attention in class really paid off!"

A new voice entered the fray. "Yeah, you spent as much time paying attention as you did sleeping in class. Must have really paid off."

Junpei, who was most definitely not there a second ago, had a slightly amused expression on his face. His signature hat on top his head and his goatee crinkling slightly as he spoke.

The red eyed girl at least was humble enough to look sheepish, knowing that the statement was in fact true. And yet, despite this, a smile still rose to her face.

"Oh? And how would you know that Junpei-kun, if I remember correctly then you spent just as much time asleep as I did. If not more." Hamuko responded with a teasing tone.

"Well at least my scores reflect that, it honestly doesn't make sense that you got the highest score with that much sleeping! Seriously, what'd you do, pull all nighters every day for each subject?" Junpei said, face looking as if he really believed that she did.

Hamuko, not one to pass up opportunities, took the chance and played along. "Of course! You really think it's possible to be top of the class without making a few sacrifices?" She laughed.

Yukari looked as if the auburn haired girl had grown another head, the goatee wielding student on the other hand, caught on quickly and joined in.

Junpei gave another smile. "If I didn't know any better I would have thought that you sacrificed a few people for the sake of a few good scores!" He thought for a second. "Maybe that's why there's been cases of students disappearing! It's been you all along hasn't it!" Junpei exclaimed, face completely serious.

The exclamation drew a few gazes from the other students who had been near the front gate. several chuckles could be heard while others just shook their head before proceeding onwards to their destination.

Hamuko shot a quick glance at the spectators before she returned her eyes to her friends. Giving a mental chuckle for what she was about to do she adopted the creepiest face she could, which was admittedly not that creepy, before saying "And the souls of the students will haunt everyone in the dorm as ghosts for not stopping me!" This time Hamuko actually did laugh.

A small sound from their brown haired friend alerted and reminded both Junpei and Hamuko that Yukari had yet to really say anything in the past couple minutes.

Not to mention that she looked really pale.

"Yuka-tan, what's wrong? You look like you've seen a ghost?" Junpei said, cracking a smile at his own joke.

"G-Ghost?!" Yukari laughed nervously. "D-Don't be silly! "G-Ghosts aren't real! Y-You should joke around about stuff like ghosts!"

Junpei and Hamuko exchanged a glance.

"Ah, Yuka-tan. We were just joking. After all ghosts aren't real right Hamu-tan?" Junpei gave a small chuckle in an attempt to calm down the abruptly scared girl.

"No Junpei, ghosts aren't real." Hamuko tried to keep the amusement at the entire situation out of her voice but failed miserably.

Yukari gave a glare to both her fellow dorm mates. "Hmph! Well I was going to suggest that we all go out and treat ourselves for surviving midterms, but I guess that you two would rather joke around then have a nice celebration between everyone."

Junpei's eyes bulged. "N-now now Yuka-tan, I'm sure that all of us agree that a celebration is a necessity, especially since we never really got to celebrate after the incident with the monorail."

At the mention of the monorail, Hamuko's bright smile gradually turned into a small neutral upturn of the lips. One that betrayed very little emotions. There were things that happened on May 9th that only she seemed to notice, and they definitely weren't pleasant. So many things just seemed out of place. Like what on earth was that last bit with the shadow? It… Talked right before it dissolved into nothingness. She didn't even know shadows could talk! Most of the time they just scream at you or make-

"-muko! Hey Hamuko!"

"Huh?" Hamuko blinked, yanked out of her thoughts

Yukari sighed. "Geez Hamuko, for someone who's so smart you can sometimes be a scatterbrain you know? We have enough of that with Junpei. Anyways, we were just wondering if you have to do anything later today?"

"I…" Hamuko thought a bit, still slightly frazzled from being pulled out thoughts. "I do have something to do, rather soon in fact thanks for reminding me."

"Oh? And what would that be? Date with your secret boyfriend?"

"H-He's not my boyfriend! And it's not a date! We're just meeting up to talk!" Hamuko denied, face taking on a slight rosy shade.

"..." Both Yukari and Junpei stared.

Hamuko furrowed her brows in confusion before realizing what she said. Covering her mouth, her slightly pink cheeks bloomed into a full on blush.

"I-I have to get going, bye guys!" Hamuko rushed off, not meeting either of them by the eyes.

Yukari and Junpei both stared at the direction their friend had dashed off to. They both exchanged a quick glance.

"We're following her right?"

"Of course."

* * *

Despite their nonchalant attitude about following their friend on her not-so-secret-anymore-date, they found that Hamuko could be very quick and easy to lose in a crowd of she wanted to. Which is something considering that both her looks and her general aura just seemed to… attract people.

"Tch, damn. Where did she go?" Junpei muttered.

Yukari scanned the area. "How did we lose someone like her?"

"I know! I was just thinking that. How do we lose someone who stands out and attracts attention just by being there?"

Yukari sighed. "I really didn't think she'd be that good at maneuvering crowds. Definitely not a skill I expected from our happy go lucky leader." She sat down at a nearby bench.

Junpei sat down next to her, slumping down. "Ahh, I was really excited to see who captured our leaders attention."

"Why? So you can spread another rumor around the school?"

Junpei looked slightly sheepish. "Ah… Well aren't you a bit curious? After all, she's denied every guy so far! Who's the special guy who managed to land a date with a babe like her?"

Yukari had a slight look of disgust on her. "Honestly Junpei, is that all you think about?"

"Something like that…" Junpei trailed off.

Yukari looked over, confused by her friend's sudden change in mood.

"Junpei?"

"Ah…" Junpei shook his head. "I was just thinking that-"

"You? Thinking? What a miracle!"

"Yeah I know right?" Junpei smirked. "Anyways, I was just thinking that despite how good friends Hamuko is with everyone, how good friends she is with us, we don't really know too much about her do we?"

"Junpei what-"

"Like sometimes I feel that despite how friendly she is, she keeps us at an arms length distance."

"Junpei where is this coming from-"

"Do you know what Hamuko's favourite colour is?" Junpei looked straight into Yukari's eyes.

"Of course! It's…" Yukari blinked. What was it? It was probably red right? After all when they went shopping she looked so good in it. "...red right?"

Junpei shook his head. "That's what I thought too. But when I asked her about it she just looked confused and said that it wasn't."

"Well… What is it then?"

"I never got the answer out of her. She said that she had to do something and left. Kind of abrupt too."

Yukari looked around. The crowd had significantly died down by now and the space now had only the occasional person walking around, most of them being students like them. The sun cast a nice orange glow over the entire park, complementing the long shadows that were cast from the ever dipping sun.

Looking back at Junpei she said. "That's odd Junpei, and now that I think about it I do kind of get that feeling. But I'm sure she has her reasons! Everyone has their secrets." She took a look around the area once again. "Anyways, it's getting kind of dark and I'm kind of thirsty. Let's head to Chagall cafe real quick since it's close by and then go back to the dorm."

Junpei nodded. A drink sounded nice right about now. They wasted their time chasing down their friend who was more nimble than they expected and ended up just talking the entire time. Not that it was a bad thing, it was rather enjoyable.

"Yeah! Sounds good."

"Hey Junpei!"

"Huh?"

"You know, when you aren't talking about how to score girls, it's not so bad talking to you. Reminds me of old times!"

"Y-Yuka-tan… I didn't know you cared!"

"Don't let it get to your head. Baka."

* * *

Upon entering the cafe, both Junpei and Yukari scanned the room, a habit formed from their dwelling into Tartarus.

"H-Hey Yuka-tan?"

"What Junpei?"

Junpei elbowed her before tilting his head in a direction. "Is that…?"

Looking over to the area that Junpei motioned to, Yukari's gaze met with a mane of short auburn hair. Shaking her head slightly to make sure she wasn't imagining anything she confirmed that yes, the pretty girl with red hair was indeed their friend Hamuko.

"Of all the places… I guess it makes sense though. But where's the guy…?" Yukari trailed off.

"Probably just left, she looks like she's getting ready to leave too."

"Didn't even leave with her. Hmph! What a guy."

"Cmon Yuka-tan, don't be like that. I'm sure he had his reasons." Junpei said, feeling the need to defend his fellow male.

"There's no excuse for-" Junpei grabbed Yukari's hand, leading them over to their friend. "Hey! What are you doing? Junpei!"

"Why don't we just ask her then?" Junpei gave a small smirk, his goatee crinkling slightly.

"W-Wait Junpei you can't just-"

"Sure I can!"

* * *

" _-and then he found out that his teacher was a maid!"_

 _Blue hair shook slightly as he laughed. Silver eyes crinkling slightly from the smile that was apparent on his face. The tale that was being told wasn't exactly the funniest thing but the sheer enthusiasm and joy being radiated from the auburn haired girl was contagious, anyone would be hard pressed to not enjoy spending time around her._

" _Oh? And what happened then? Did he steal her heart?" The blue haired boy asked._

" _What? No! I told you that he only stole the hearts of the bad guys! Why would he-" She paused, thinking over what he said slightly. "Huh, I guess in a way he did end up stealing her heart. In a completely different sense of course."_

 _The bluenette raised an eyebrow. "A teacher student relationship? Can't say I saw that coming."_

" _That got you interested huh?" She paused for dramatic effect. "Wait! No way! Don't tell me you want to be in a student teacher relationship yourself!"_

" _Now where on earth did you get that idea?"_

 _A playful smirk appeared on the auburn haired girls face. "I could sense it! I could see it in your eyes! It's something that you've always wanted isn't it?"_

 _A mischievous glint appeared in the blue haired boy's eyes. If that's how she wanted to go about it, then two could play at that._

" _Ah. It seems that I've been found out. But wait! You were talking so much about a boy going about stealing hearts… could it be that you wanted me to steal your heart?"_

 _Not expecting the tables to be turned so quickly, the girl was shocked for a moment before her face erupted in a bright rosy red blush._

" _Wha-"_

 _Not letting up, the boy interjected quickly. "That's a cute reaction. May I take it from that blush that I'm correct?" He smirked. "We only met yesterday and you've already fallen for me? I'm flattered."_

 _The auburnette felt as if she could spontaneously combust at any given moment. Her mouth opened and closed repeatedly in an attempt to form some sort of response and yet no sound came out._

 _The boy chuckled softly, slightly proud at his work and ability to completely fluster the girl he was with. It certainly wasn't everyday that he was able to make someone speechless and it definitely made for something entertaining._

 _The girl crossed her arms and turned away from the smiling boy._

" _Y-You…" Cursing herself for stuttering, the girl continued. "You wish y-you could steal the h-heart of someone like me! I'm way out of your league!"_

" _You know, you aren't very convincing with that stuttering."_

 _Glancing at the boy out of the corner of her eye, the girl scanned him over once before turning back towards him and mustering up the meanest glare she could make._

 _Not at all fazed by the glare he was receiving, the boy met her gaze head on._

 _It was kind of cute actually._

 _The girl continued glaring. Maybe if she stared long enough, he would burst into flames? The thought of the boy across from her randomly igniting made her lip twitch ever so slightly. The more she thought about it the funnier it seemed! She could just picture his reaction, he would be so confused!_

" _Heh…" A giggle escaped her lip. She bit down. Hard._

" _Hehe!" More giggles! No! Cmon! Stay in character._

 _The boy noticed the escaped giggles and let out a small giggle of his own._

 _Seeing this the red eyed girl couldn't take anymore. She laughed. The hilarity of the entire situation, the glares, the stories, and the flirting just got to her._

 _Chuckling alongside her the boy clutched the table in front of them with one hand in an attempt to contain his laughter, to no success._

" _You-" the bluenette started, forcing his laughter down in. "Are quite the character it seems. It's been awhile since I've had a wholehearted laugh like that."_

" _I could say the same for you!" The girl responded. Still giving off the occasional giggle. "To think that yesterday and most of today you gave off such a cold air."_

" _I could see the futility in acting like that around someone as stubborn as you. I am assuming you would have continued pestering me had I not accepted your invitation?"_

" _Of course! Someone like you just screams 'delinquent' but on the inside you're just a big softie!" She nodded once, seemingly proud of her analysis before blinking. "Hey wait! I did not pester you, and I'm certainly not stubborn!"_

" _I'm surprised you can say something like that with a straight face." He smirked. "Then again, stubborn people tend to be really thick headed."_

" _H-Hey! I am not thick headed! I'll have you know that I scored highest in my year on midterms!"_

" _That's surprising. Are you sure they didn't mix up the names of last place and first place?"_

" _Ha! As if! You know I could probably teach you a few things. Like how to treat a lady and make friends!"_

 _The blue haired boy pretended to look around. "Huh… I don't see anyone that could be classified as a lady anywhere…"_

 _Looking back to the girl he feigned surprise. "Oh! Did you mean yourself?"_

 _Red eyes twitched. "Look here bub-"_

" _Excuse me."_

 _The arrival of a new voice caused both parties to blink in surprise. The waitress stood by the end of their table with a small receipt in her hand._

 _The newly arrived waitress gave a nod before handing the receipt to the blue haired boy. "Here's the recipt sir! Thanks for coming and have a nice day!"_

 _The boy nodded in response. "Thank you, and you too."_

 _The auburnette was silent throughout the whole exchange. It wasn't until the waitress left that she spoke up._

" _When did you pay…? We didn't get the bill… Did we?" Utterly confused as to what just happened, the girl asked in hopes of figuring out what was going on._

 _The boy just gave a smile in response. "If you were wondering about not splitting the cost, then don't worry. I handled it."_

" _No, that's not what-"_

" _It is getting rather late though, so I must be going. Thank you for the evening, it was fun."_

" _Huh? A-Ah yeah… See you."_

 _With that. The blue haired boy got up and left. The door made a slight jingle from bell attached to it as it opened before closing softly._

" _What just… Happened?"_

 _Confused by the abrupt ending of the date, the girl only stared at the door the boy left through._

 _Blinking once, she realized something._

" _Wait a minute… I never got his contact info!"_

 _With a sigh the girl checked her phone for the time before starting to pack up her things. Recalling the date brought a small smile to her face. He was definitely someone not used to other people, the way he responded to her early on in their meeting was a good indicator, but he slowly warmed up and even shocked her a little by how witty he could be at times. Not to mention his age, he said he was the same age as her but she neglected to get information about where he went to school. She would have remembered if someone like him went to Gekkoukan high._

" _Ah well, I'm sure I'll meet him again."_

 _Giving another sigh, something that had been occurring more frequently lately, the girl stood up from the chair she had been situated in. Turning around she-_

* * *

-came face to face with a certain cap wearing student and his choker wearing friend.

Hamuko blinked. "Junpei? Yukari? What are you guys doing here?"

Junpei stepped forward and gave a grin. "Oh nothing Hamu-tan! We were just going to get a drink when we saw you and decided to say hello!"

"Is that really it, Junpei?" Hamuko gave him a blank stare, before turning the look onto Yukari.

Yukari fidgeted nervously from the stare she was receiving. "We… wanted to see who you were going out with."

"Oh, well if that's ALL you wanted then you could have just asked. Didn't have to go as far as stalking me."

Junpei sputtered. "We were not stalking you!"

"...or at least, not doing a very good job at it." Yukari interjected.

"What! Yukari! You can't just-"

"Junpei please, we both know that we lost her almost instantly!"

"Yeah but that doesn't mean you can just tell her that we were-"

"Yukari, Junpei."

Both friends were stopped from their bickering when their top scoring friend called them. The too-sweet-to-be-true smile that she was giving off exuded a foreboding feeling.

"Y-Yes Hamu-tan?" Junpei stuttered.

"Let's go back to the dorm."

"Of course"

"R-Right."

And that was the end of that.

* * *

The journey back to the dorm was a quiet one. Hamuko cheerily hummed along to the song she was listening too. Ears covered by her red headphones. Both Yukari and Junpei trailed slightly behind her in silence.

To an outsider, there would seem to be nothing wrong with the trio. A group of friends who simply prefer the silence instead of idle chitchat.

On the inside however, both Yukari and Junpei were slightly jumpy. Every time they tried to start a small conversation with Hamuko what they got was a seemingly normal response.

A normal response with a **very** obvious edge to it, one that dissuaded any ideas about furthering the conversation.

Their leader seemed to be still ticked off about the whole stalking thing.

Upon reaching the dorms, both Yukari and Junpei exchanged a look. Neither of them were really looking forward to the very near future with their leader in a mood like this.

Junpei idly wondered if there was a small chance she had cooled down.

"H-Hamu-tan?" He started.

"Hmm?"

"Are you uh… still mad?"

Hamuko smiled. "Now Junpei, why on earth would I be mad? Whatever have you done that could have possibly made me mad?"

"Nothing. Uh… It's good that you aren't mad."

Yep. Still mad.

* * *

 _She shut the door to her room, feet dragging along the floor before ultimately collapsing. Auburn hair sprawled out, covering her eyes, her nose, her face. Darkness filled her sight._

 _Who was he?_

 _Who was that blue haired boy?_

 _Why did he look so much_ _ **so much**_ _like him?_

 _Why?_

 _ **Why?**_

 _She didn't show it, but ever since her meeting with the blue haired enigma it had taken all she had not to break out in hysterics_

 _She took a shaky breath, hands trembling as she attempted to push herself up. The floor was so cold_ _ **so cold**_ _but she couldn't bring herself off it no matter how hard she pushed._

 _The mirror in the corner of her eye_ _**corner of her eye**_ _looked so inviting, so warm so_ _ **not cold**_ _._

 _She lay upon the cold ground as she stared upon the silver eyes_ _ **silver eyes**_ _that stared back at her._

 _ **Silver eyes in the mirror**_ _._

 _With trembling hands she reached into her pocket, taking hold of the cold metallic coin. Slowly she taking it out, hand meeting cold air before creating a fist._

 _Maneuvering the coin to the top of her first, she dug her thumb under her index finger and then_ _ **flipped.**_

 _Heads over tails it goes before softly landing in the palm of a hand._

 _ **The world lurched.**_

 _Out of the corner of the eye did_ _ **Crimson**_ _irises stare back._

 _The person on the floor lifted their head, turning to face the mirror. Crimson eyes disappeared, replaced by silver orbs._

 _What was once auburn hair was now a midnight blue._

 _Where a beautiful girl once lay, a young man took her place._

 _Her yin to his yang._

 _Opposites who have come together._

 _ **Two sides of the same coin.**_

 _He took a deep breath. Hands steady and pulse calm. Pushing himself off the ground he stood, several inches taller than his female counterpart he was seated at a nice height of 170 cm._

 _Looking down he noted that he was still in her uniform. Despite the change appearance, their clothes stayed the same. Quickly taking off her clothes and putting on his that were stored in the closet, the boy walked towards the closed window parallel to the bed._

 _The moon was in its third quarter phase, half of the moon was brightly visible in the sky while half of it was shrouded by the surrounding darkness._

 _The now blue haired boy thought it was oddly symbolistic._

 _He waited, waited waited_ _ **waited.**_ _Waited for the hour to strike midnight._

 _And it did._

 _Green spread throughout the landscape, water replaced with blood and the moon glowed an eerie yellow._

 _Finally._

 _He unlatched the lock on the window and jumped out, feral grin on his face and nothing but his clothes and a single evoker on his body._

* * *

Started: May 16th.

Finished. Jun 6th.

Words: 5,021

 **Theme for this story: Loving something you can't have.**

 **Something I made on a whim. Took a while since I'm rather busy but it turned out okay I guess. The style of writing I chose for this story is kind of interesting in my opinion. I hope people can pick up on what kind of messages I'm trying to send.**

 **I don't really like dialogue too much but it was kind of necessary for a story like this. Kind of overboard with what I ended up with.**

 **If you note anything that could be improved please say so.**

 **-FN**


	2. Chapter 2

Hamuko often thought about things that normal people would stray from. Things such as whether or not the bonds and relationships she had were considered artificial just because she had such a different personality when alone. She thought about various interactions with friends that may or may not happen in the future just so she could prepare for them. Sometimes she wondered whether or not time travel is a legitimate possibility in the future, if it was, then wouldn't we have found out already? Some people said that traveling back in time was impossible but Hamuko thought that was just rubbish, time was like a river, you could swim both ways. And when she thought about time travel, she thought about parallel dimensions. If one was to travel to a parallel dimension could it technically be time travel if you arrived before your present point in time?

When her thoughts drifted away from those, Hamuko's thoughts would usually turn down a bit of a somber path. Oftentimes she would dwell on the fact that after she graduated high school, she would never meet the majority of her classmates again. That eventually people would forget each other. She would think about how she would probably just remember her as 'that one smart transfer girl'. She thought about how despite how many friends and companions she seemed to be surrounded by, she never truly felt like she fit in, never truly felt like she was understood.

She didn't like thinking about that last one, it made her chest ache and brought her mood down. But she couldn't deny that the feeling of loneliness didn't exist. Even the recent adventures of SEES didn't erase that feeling. The battles together may have created a bond that she'd never really had before but it was more of a brother in arms feeling, certainly not something of... intimate trust.

Each member of SEES had their quirks that she was thankful for, but Hamuko couldn't help but think that they were missing something or someone that glued them all together.

Someone other than her.

She hesitated to say she loved them, but she most definitely cared for everyone in the dorm. Seeing everyone treat each other with indifference was kind of… depressing.

Hamuko knew why that tension existed, she wasn't blind. Each and every one of the current members had their own little insecurities and beef with another member.

Junpei, although a great friend and someone who would always have your back, was perhaps the most obvious and vocal about his. Hamuko's leadership status caused feelings of jealousy to arise. Monorail incident aside, he usually didn't let that affect him but talking to him during their Tartarus runs made it painfully clear that he was restraining himself. It was vexing not being able to do anything about it but Hamuko hoped that he would eventually put those feelings aside.

Yukari, for one reason or another, has questioned Mitsuru's every move. It wasn't hard to tell that she didn't trust their student council leader, even if she hasn't really been that vocal about it. Usually she would just make an offhand comment or send glares at her back when she thought no one was looking. Comments and glares that Hamuko, and Mitsuru too if she was correct, were acutely aware of. As far as the auburn haired girl knew. Mitsuru hadn't really done anything to warrant such actions and it was merely the girl's insecurities acting up.

Akihiko was different from the others in that he didn't have any real problem with the other members. His problem seemed to lie elsewhere and his constant need to prove something to _someone_ , who that was Hamuko didn't know. But it was rather clear that he oftentimes tried to do or be something he couldn't or wasn't.

Mitsuru was someone that many people often considered perfect. If she was anyone else she might be inclined to agree but Hamuko knew a bit too much and had a bit too much experience with people who were seemingly perfect. Mitsuru held her own insecurities, that much was certain. As to what those exactly were, she didn't know and could only guess.

Hamuko sighed. Closing her red eyes, she snuggled up against her pillow even more in an attempt to get some sleep. An attempt which had been mimicked for the past couple hours with no success. All she really wanted to do right now was let herself succumb to the pleasure of sleep, but she didn't feel even the slightest hint of drowsiness. She was tempted to just go out for a midnight jog to help relax her nerves. Even though it required for her to get dressed in something that _wasn't_ her pajamas, and that took effort. Effort she really didn't want to use.

And yet, her bed was so soft, so inviting. When she inhaled she got whiff of a faint fragrance that was absolutely intoxicating. It was a smell that was sweet, and dimly reminded her of strawberries and yet also had a slight pinch of nature. Nature that, if her intuition was right, was not a tree or another fruit, but a flower. It gave off the slightest feeling of deja vu as Hamuko could have sworn that she had smelled it before.

Inhaling deeply, Hamuko let out a small sigh. That sweet smell drew her in and left her enraptured, it was so utterly **addicting** and a strong desire to find out its origins welled up inside her. Where had she experienced this utterly intoxicating scent before? In school? No, she would remember if there ever was something there that had managed to entrance her like this had. Then where? Tartarus? That shouldn't count as school does it?

Either way, she couldn't imagine either of those places being the host to this delight. Hamuko swallowed. The more she breathed in the more it changed. From the bitter naturey part of the smell, it slowly turned into something that caused her lower body to flush with heat.

Hamuko rubbed her thighs together, the friction it created sent the faintest of electrical shocks up and through her entire body. Her lips trembled in anticipation as her hand slowly snaked down her body, resting upon the lower part of her stomach. She knew if she went any further down, she wouldn't have the self control from stopping herself. But damn self control. She didn't know why or how she got into this state but she knew she needed release and needed it now.

Letting her hand slowly brush over her most sacred placed. Hamuko stifled the gasp that rose up by stuffing her face into her pillow. She was always sensitive and this was amplified even further by the increasingly long distance between periods of times where she had alone time. With the increase of journeys into Tartarus and late night school activities, Hamuko seldom had the time or the energy for anything she wanted to do in the confines of her own room.

Hamuko let out another sharp inhale. In the confines of her room and the dead middle of the night, the only sounds that could be heard were her soft muffled moans and the nearly silent sound of her sheets being fuddled about.

She could feel heat welling up within her core, bubbling and wanting to burst. Her heartbeat increased and her cheeks flushed a pretty red.

Hamuko turned, bringing her thumb to her face and lightly bit down on it in an attempt to better muffle her ever increasing voice. Her mind had long since gone hazy from the pleasure brought about to her by her own hand and with each second she cared less and less about keeping her voice down and more about attaining release. Her fingers dove deeper.

And attain release she was. Hamuko could feel it, she was so close to sweet euphoria that she could feel her toes curling and back arching ever so slightly. She released her thumb from her mouth and brought it toward her left breast and giving it a soft squeeze. Just a little longer and-

"Is this a common human pastime?"

Hamuko shrieked and bolted upright. Acting on reflex, her hand darted beneath her pillow and brought out her evoker while the rest grabbed her sheets and covered her still clothed body with it.

Although it was dark, Hamuko had no trouble instantly identifying the source of the voice. A small boy with bright blue eyes and wearing what seemed to be a prisoner's outfit stood in the opposite side of the room from her.

The red eyed girl swallowed, forcing herself to calm down. Her hands shook violently and her heart raced faster than it had ever been, even faster than in the face of death, at the prospect of being caught by someone while she was on the verge of climax. Her cheeks were a bright red, unlike the rosy one she sported earlier.

Her mood was unquestionably ruined.

Her head was reeling with a multitude of emotions and she couldn't really figure out what she was feeling right now but it was clear enough to recognize that the boy in front of her asked a question and was patiently waiting for an answer. However as much as she wanted to answer she couldn't remember the inquiry. The shock of the situation and veritable flood of emotions that happened all at once completely washed over any memory of the encounter.

Hamuko sighed. "I'm sorry, what was your question again?"

The boy blinked before answering. "I asked if what you were doing was a common human pastime."

It was Hamuko's turn to blink. Was masturbating common? She supposed it although usually people don't have haunted children stalking them.

"Yes I suppose it is." She said, licking her lips in an attempt to get rid of their sudden dryness. "However it's not usually something done with others. It's a… private thing."

"I see. But if it's something common then why do people partake in it alone and in private? Wouldn't it be better to do it among others?"

Among others… That… She really didn't want to think about that. "It's kind of complicated. It's something that you really only do by yourself. It's just how it is." Hamuko really didn't want to continue this conversation.

Luckily for her. The blue eyed boy in white and black clothes seemed satisfied with her answer.

"I see." He said, nodding once before continuing. "Then in exchange for your answer I shall give you a warning. Beware of the moon's completeness."

Hamuko look toward the window. "The moon's completeness…?" She said before looking back towards the boy.

As if he wasn't there in the first place, he was gone. The red haired girl's room held nothing but her in it once more.

With a sigh, Hamuko let herself fall back down onto her pillow and turned to look toward her clock. The numbers 3:36AM stared back at her tauntingly.

She never really thought there was a chance she was going to get any sleep but she knew for sure that there was absolutely no chance at all she was getting rest after that scare. She just hoped that her admittedly really loud yell didn't wake up anyone.

That thought made her sit back up. If she had by chance woken up Mitsuru or Yukari, she was most definitely in for an earful, and Hamuko really didn't want to deal with that.

Maybe the mall held something in store for her. She knew it was open around the clock and it certainly seemed more inviting than getting a lecture she really didn't need or want.

Getting out of bed Hamuko hurried towards her dresser and quickly changed out of her nightwear and into her school uniform. As she was finishing up and putting on her left stocking, the red haired girl faintly heard the sound of a door opening in the hallway outside her room.

Grabbing a post-it note and a pen Hamuko quickly wrote that she would be back and placed it on the mirror above her dresser.

Hamuko gave a small smirk as she propped open the window. She would be back, just not before school ended.

She ignored the blue hair reflected in her mirror out of the corner of her eye.

She hit the ground running.

* * *

The train that toured the island didn't start up until 5am and did a round trip every 20 minutes thereafter. Which meant that Hamuko spent around an hour doing whatever would entertain her enough until she caught the first train to the mall. She didn't know exactly what shops would be open at this ungodly hour but she knew it couldn't have been much. Oftentimes she had stayed at the mall with friends past midnight on days they didn't want to explore Tartarus.

The club had the possibility to be open. It seemed to be open the entire night and closed to entire day so it was certainly possible that she could find something to do there until school started up. Although Hamuko liked to avoid it past 11 at night as the company started to get on the more unruly side. Dancing was fun. Getting hit on by guys twice her age and drunk off their feet was not.

Karaoke was open all day. But she didn't exactly fancy the idea of singing by herself, especially after a night of no sleep.

Hamuko closed her eyes and sighed. Perhaps she'll just find something to do once she's there. It's no use thinking about it currently if she's just going to bum herself out.

When she felt the train beginning to signal it's stop she opened her eyes and grabbed her bag. Glancing at another passenger who seemed to just be rousing from sleep. All the people on train seemed to be businessmen and there wasn't another student in sight.

Which was understandable as it _was_ 5 in the morning.

Seeing the other passengers blink and stand lethargically made Hamuko feel a small twinge of uncomfort.

Hamuko faltered slightly standing up. The dull throb of arousal still plagued her and her cheeks were still a rosy pink that contrasted with her powdery white skin. Denied from release earlier, Hamuko knew that she would likely have to deal with the slight haze of arousal on top of the lack of sleep. Math would not be fun.

Stepping out of the train she scanned the area quickly before heading down the stairs out of the station. She glanced at the movie theatre that seemed to be closed this early in the morning and walked past the flower shop Rafflesia. The girl from the shop was already up and seemed to be tending to her budding plants and gave a small wave to Hamuko as she passed by.

Hamuko gave a smile and waved back before continuing onward to her destination. It was a boring 25 minute walk that consisted of her passing by her school and walking over a small bridge connecting two islands. It hadn't even hit 6 in the morning before Hamuko arrived in front of the mall.

Taking a small glance upward at the letters denoting the name of the mall. Hamuko stepped forward, feeling the slight breeze of the air conditioner as she passed through the doors. The familiar sight of a fountain surrounded by several stores greeted her. Giving a sigh, Hamuko peeked her head at the window of several shops only to show no signs of life inside. The doors to the club were open but passing by showed little to no people besides the bartender and a few strays who had yet to wake up from the counter.

Hamuko's two favourite places, the Chagall cafe and Power Records, both were closed and didn't seem to be opening soon. The cafe, which served coffee and was something Hamuko could use in excess right now, didn't open until 7 and Power Records didn't open until sometime in the afternoon. She sighed and did a few rounds around the fountain while she let her mind wander.

Hamuko ended up in front of the stairway that led to the karaoke bar, she didn't know why she ended up there but she did know karaoke was perhaps the last thing she wanted to do in the mall right now.

There was seemingly nothing to do in the mall, an outcome she expected but was nonetheless bummed about the result, and it seemed the only thing that Hamuko was willing to do was put on her headphones and listen to music for the next couple hours.

Hamuko checked the time on her phone while ignoring the 13 missed calls from Yukari. It was around 5:56 and school didn't start until 8:30 so she had over two hours before she had to care.

Just as she was about to start walking towards a bench make herself comfortable on, she realized that there _was_ one thing that she had yet to check out. It was something incredibly annoying at times, while others, extremely helpful. It was certainly never boring and the company was… unique. It kept her on her metaphorical toes.

Turning back towards the direction that housed the stairs to the karaoke bar, Hamuko walked past it into a completely blank hallway save for a glowing blue door that cast no shadow. There was a blue butterfly that sat upon the top of frame.

Materializing a blue key from seemingly nowhere. Hamuko extended her hand toward the knob she hesitated right before it, was she really about to go to those two for entertainment? Yes, she decided, she was.

Hamuko grabbed the knob and turned, opening the door and stepping inside.

* * *

The first thing that Hamuko noticed when entering the Velvet Room was the change in temperature from the outside world. It was the first thing she noticed every time she entered the Velvet Room and didn't seem like it would change from being the first thing she noticed.

The second thing she noticed, much like every other time, was the two occupants of the room. The long nosed bald man with bulged veins who sat upon a regal couch and the odd pretty woman with piercing yellow eyes always took her by surprise.

The third and final thing that she always noticed before she moved to sit down was the way the room visibly shook every once and awhile and yet she could never feel it.

It was akin to clockwork.

She moved to sit down in the chair in front of her. The long nosed man kept his eyes closed with his elbows propped on a table in between the chair and his couch. His hands were clasped in front of his face. He held a smile that showed no teeth and emphasized his aged face and long nose.

The pretty girl with yellow eyes gave Hamuko a small smile.

"Honored guest." Igor started. His bloodshot eyes now open. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

A question asked. Once again like clockwork.

Hamuko smiled sheepishly, thinking about how she should answer the question. "Oh you know…" She shrugged her shoulders. "Just wanted to hang out!" She decided the truth was probably the best option.

Even if it did throw a wrench in the works.

Igor was silent. His eyebrows furrowed slightly and his eyes kept even with Hamuko's. "...Hang out?" He said.

"Yeah. I couldn't sleep and decided that instead of lying in bed for hours until the sun inevitably rises that I would make good use of my time!"

Igor raised an eyebrow. "I see." He turned towards the strangely dressed pretty woman. "Elizabeth, I feel that this would be more in your field."

Elizabeth curtsied ever so slightly. "Of course." Her eyes met with Hamuko "This way please."

Elizabeth walked towards a door that was not there a moment ago. It was in the right side of the box-like elevator shaft of a room. Turning slightly so one side of her face was visible to Hamuko, she motioned with her hand to follow before opening the door and stepping inside.

Hamuko blinked. "That door wasn't there before." She stated out loud.

"Are you really so surprised honored guest? I know you've had suspicions as to what this room is capable of." Igor said.

Raising her eyebrows slightly before shaking her head. Hamuko sighed. "I guess that's true."

"Go. Elizabeth will tend to your needs."

Hamuko smiled. "I never said anything about needs, but thank you."

Stepping through the door, Hamuko shielded her eyes from the sudden appearance of blinding light that came out of seemingly nowhere. It lasted only a second and when she removed her arm from in front of her face she was surprised by the decor of the room she stepped into. It was a bedroom. A large bedroom that could be compared to about half the size of the first floor of the dorm. It's walls were painted a neutral white and had small engravings of animals near the bottom of the walls. The bed was grand and held a canopy of sheer white cloth. The mattress itself held two pillows, each with small prints of flowers and the sheets were white and had a gold coloured engravings of birds. There was a flat screened television parallel to the bed with a small wooden desk underneath it.

Walking through the bedroom some more Hamuko came across the bathroom which was nearly the same size of the bedroom itself. The bath took up half of the room and looked to have nearly every kind of hair wash available to mankind. The area in which Hamuko entered from held a small area where it seemed like it was possible to store any personal belongings and clothes before it gave way to the area to rinse off. To Hamuko's left there was an area that hosted a more traditional style of cleansing complete with a shower, sink and toilet.

"Elizabeth?" Hamuko called out.

"Yes?" Elizabeth said, appearing right besides the auburnette.

Stifling her surprise at the sudden appearance. "Where… Exactly are we?" She asked.

"The bathroom. Honored guest." Elizabeth said.

"Very funny." Hamuko deadpanned. "And call me Hamuko."

"Did I say something funny?" Elizabeth asked, tilting her head head in confusion.

"You said-" Hamuko stopped upon realizing exactly who she was talking to. "Actually never mind. What I want to know is what and how this room came to be."

"You willed it and it came to be." Elizabeth said.

"...What?"

"You willed it and-" Elizabeth started again.

"No I know that." Hamuko interrupted. "But what does that mean?"

"Of course. What I am saying is that this room that has appeared, the bathroom and the bedroom, are both rooms that your subconscious wanted the most and your brain decided that it was the most suitable to 'hang out' as you said."

"Why would I think that a bedroom and a bathroom are good places to hang out?"

"Well a bedroom, especially one as lavish as the one you conjured up, usually indicates a want for companionship." Hamuko flushed and opened her mouth to protest. "But the inclusion of a bathroom leads me to believe that your want is more to relax than anything. That and your inclusion of saying that you could not sleep."

Hamuko's mouth opened and closed, doing a good impression of a fish out of water. "I see." She said eventually.

Elizabeth smiled. "It's just a suggestion but perhaps you want to take up your subconscious's offer and relax a bit. I think a nice warm bath would be a good start."

"I…" Hamuko started. "Yeah, that sounds like a good idea."

"Of course." Elizabeth curtsied. "I'll leave you to it."

"Thanks."

Hamuko's eyes trailed Elizabeth until the moment she turned and closed the door between the two rooms. With that, Hamuko was alone in a bathroom that could hold an entire class.

She sighed and began undressing. Folding her school uniform neatly before taking off her skirt and underwear and placing them in a small den near the front of the bath entrance. She went to move forward into the rinsing area but the presence of a mirror in her peripheral stopped her.

Blue hair danced in the corner of her eye. Taunting her, mocking her _yelling screaming fighting painSTOPSTOPSTOPSTOPSTOPSTOP._

She turned towards the mirror and examined her body. Her auburn hair was let down for once, reaching just slightly above her waist. It was a quite bit longer than what she usually pinned it up as, preferring the short and out of the way style when she was diving into Tartarus or doing casual school activities.

Part of the reason she pinned it up was because of situations like these, where she stood in front of her reflection. Bare to all and hair down. It was a mesmerizing sight to Hamuko. Her eyes traveled downwards, past her pale shoulders and down to her pert breasts. They were a modest size, big enough to fit in a small hand but not large enough that they would overflow. They were a good size and her nipples were a pretty pink.

Her breathing grew heavy and her lips felt distinctly dry. Yet the sight of herself licking them brought attention back up to her face. Her full plump red lips that contrasted naturally with her pale skin. How she wanted to be able to feel that upon her own. From her lips downward towards her breasts. Where they would receive a few love bits here and a few nips there. To leave her mark upon that powdery white skin in the mirror. And when that was done, eventually she would go lower. Down to the navel and then past her slim waist that she wished to embrace. Past that and eventually to her sacred place. Where she would tenderly love and focus all of her attention at. Perhaps she would give her thighs a small sensual massage as she did that, to watch her twitch and whimper as she was utterly under in control. She wanted to see the girl in mirror's face contort in pleasure, back arched and pressed into her own.

She watched as the auburnette in the mirror brought her hand away from her breast and slowly traveled downwards. Past her taut stomach and down towards her inner thigh. Where she carefully crept it upwards, leaving goosebumps in its wake.

Hamuko swallowed. Her fingers were so close to her core that she could feel herself tensing up in anticipation. When she touched that pink little bundle of nerves she let out a loud involuntary gasp. Her knees buckled and electricity raced through her body. With just a touch she brought the girl in the mirror to her knees.

Hamuko locked eyes with the girl, they were a beautiful crimson shade. She was panting and her face contorted with pleasure with every touch. Hamuko brought her other hand away from supporting herself on the wall and up towards that pink little gumdrop on her breast. Oh how she longed to take it with her mouth and feel how sweet it taste. To swirl it around with her tongue and gently nibble on it. Make the auburnette cry out her name. She wanted to-

Hamuko tensed. Her back arched and waves of pleasure shot through her body. Electricity ran through her body and her mind went blank.

She collapsed onto the ground in a half lucid state. Bathing in the aftermath of release. Her auburn hair was sprawled beneath her like a halo and her eyes were half lidded. Time was unknown to her.

Eventually Hamuko recovered from her half conscious state attempted to stand, only to buckle when she put any sort of weight on her legs. Her mind was still a light haze.

How long had she been in the bathroom? How long was she in that dazed state. In between consciousness and blissful sleep.

"Eliza-" Her voice cracked and came out more alike a ragged whisper. She cleared her throat.

"Elizabeth?" Hamuko called.

There was a faint sound of fabric rustling before Hamuko heard her voice. "Yes honored guest? Is something the matter?"

"Ah… No not really I just wanted to know how long I'd been in here for." Hamuko finally was able to support herself with her legs.

"That would be around an hour, honored guest."

An hour? She'd be here for an hour?

Hamuko had been in the bathroom for an hour. She was soaked and she hadn't even began to take a bath.

"I see… I think I'll be in here for a bit longer. Sorry for taking up your time. And I told you to call me Hamuko."

"Time is subjective, honored guest." Hamuko could swear she heard the smirk on Elizabeth's face.

"Then I'll leave you to whatever you were doing." Hamuko called out.

"Of course. And I hope you finally enjoy your bath."

Hamuko's faced flushed a bright red. What did that mean? There's no way she was implying…

Hamuko sighed and pressed her back onto the wall, head falling back into the cold surface. To be caught twice in one day. The first time was embarrassing enough, and the kid didn't even know what she was doing! But this time it was Elizabeth. Elizabeth the pretty, eccentric, odd fashioned girl who she met up on with regular basis. Elizabeth the girl who seemed to know everything, even if she didn't understand it.

This however, was something quite simple to understand and also something Hamuko was quite certain Elizabeth understood.

She should really be starting that bath.

Hamuko walked towards the rinsing area and began to wash. When she was finished she tied her hair up in a small bun and dipped into the bath water. Despite being kept waiting for over an hour it was still hot, just like Hamuko liked it.

She sighed into the water, feeling her muscles relax and any aches fade away. The faint smell of herbs made Hamuko's eyes start to droop. Combined with the relaxing bath water and 'exertion' in the past 20 minutes, Hamuko slowly drifted off into dreamland.

* * *

"Hamuko?" A voice called out.

Hamuko jerked awake. What happened? Did she fall asleep in the bath? The still warm water she was sitting in pointed towards yes, but why had Elizabeth called her?

"Y-yeah? Is something the matter Elizabeth? You're not hurt are you?" Hamuko asked quickly, stumbling over a few words.

Hamuko could hear a chuckle through the bath door. "No honored guest. I'm fine. I was just checking on you make sure you didn't fall asleep. You wouldn't want any wrinkles would you?"

Checking on her? What? How long had she been asleep. And how had Elizabeth known?

"Uh… Elizabeth, how long has it been since I last called you?"

"Only about 30 minutes, honored guest." But I must assure you that time does not flow the same way it does outside."

"Ah, yeah I know. I just wanted to get an accurate grasp on how long I'd been in here. I think I'll get out now." The bath was dangerous. It was much too easy to fall asleep in it.

"Of course, honored guest."

"Oh! And you keep calling me that! It's Hamuko!" She yelled.

"Of course." Elizabeth repeated.

Hamuko shook her head and proceeded to lift herself out of the bath. Drying herself off and putting on her clothes, she decided to go with a slightly different hairstyle. A simple ponytail instead of the usual bun. Turning her head once in each direction to make sure it looked good, she nodded in satisfaction.

Opening the door that led back to the bedroom, Hamuko's eyes met with the sight of Elizabeth sitting on the edge of the bed with her hands clasped, eyes closed and looking completely at peace.

"Elizabeth." Hamuko said.

Elizabeth's eyes opened and met Hamuko's. "Yes honored guest? Did you enjoy your bath?" She asked.

Hamuko blushed slightly as she recalled all the events that happened in that bathhouse. "Y-Yeah… Yeah I did, it was just what I needed."

"That's good." Elizabeth smiled.

Nodding, Hamuko said. "Sorry for spending so much time in there, I Just kind of lost track of it."

"It's of no consequence." Elizabeth reassured her.

"I-uh. I should go." Hamuko fidgeted, some guilt still seeping into her actions for making Elizabeth waiting so long. "I did what my subconscious wanted and-" Hamuko was interrupted by a fierce yawn that overtook her out of nowhere.

Elizabeth chuckled. "Did you now? Perhaps you have done only half of what it wanted. The other half should be obvious." She stood and walked towards the front of the bed and sat down. Elizabeth patted the area next to her. "Come."

Perhaps it was her subconscious bringing her to do it, or perhaps it was the pretty girl that wanted her to come to bed. But Hamuko's feet betrayed her as she walked towards the mattress.

Hamuko slid herself in to the opposite side of Elizabeth. "I've been having trouble sleeping so I'd just thought you'd want to know-"

"Shhh." Elizabeth gave a warm smile. Propping herself up against the pillow, she sat in traditional seiza upon the bed. "Come." She said, patting her lap.

Hamuko blinked. "What?"

"I believe this is what you humans call a 'lap pillow?' I heard it was very effective in helping matters of ailment."

Hamuko smiled at the ridiculousness of the statement. It was so very Elizabeth. Complying, she brought her head upon Elizabeth's thighs.

They were… Soft. Very soft. And comfortable. It occurred to Hamuko that this was the first time that she had been in such close proximity to Elizabeth.

Elizabeth reached down to comb Hamuko's hair with her fingers, giving a soft 'shh' with each long stroke.

Hamuko could feel all the fatigue and weariness hit her all at once. Her eyelids drooped and her consciousness started to fade.

Hamuko fell asleep from the gentle ministrations of Elizabeth.

* * *

 **Start: July 17th. 2017.**

 **End. October 3rd. 2017.**

 **Words: 5700**

 **The mirror scene was as confusing to write as it was to read, however I left it like that because it got the point across. The line between whether or not Hamuko was referring to herself or referring to herself in the mirror was blurred.**

 **This is only about half of what I wanted to write for this chapter but it was starting to get too long.**

 **Next update will happen eventually.**

 **Thank you for your patience.**


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